A Thousand Days Dying
by When the Crow flies
Summary: William is sent to the real world on yet another one of Xana's heinous plots, but this time something is different. Weary from the years of psychological torture William is going to try to break free, to take his life back... But is he strong enough? As always comment, follow, and like for more, reviews are always welcomed and encouraged!
1. The Captured Warrior

The screams still haunted his dreams, the things he had done can never be erased. He had fought the battle for Lyoko for years, just not on the right side. The struggle against Xana grew harder everyday, until one day he could not longer resist.

He was now a soldier. No, he was a slave, a slave of Xana forced to fight. Time after time he was forced to fight the people who were once his friends, once his companions. No matter how violently he struggled, Xana always managed to regain control of his mind.

Days blended into weeks, and weeks into months, soon he had no idea how long he had been enslaved. Every day was torture, Xana made sure of that. When he wasn't fighting, the super computer was bombarding his mind with scenes of destruction centered around his friends.

Ever so slowly he began to crack, to fall apart under the constant hell he was in. Little by little he lost his spirit, and then his mind. No longer could he discern what was his memories, or a Xana created nightmare.

After years of work, years of torture, Xana had created his ultimate weapon. Now he could truly strike down the rabble of kids who called themselves the Lyoko Warriors, he could finally have victory.

Somewhere in Lyoko

William Dunbar sat leaning up against a white wall that served as part of his cell. His brown eyes stared unblinking at the other wall of his enclosure. Many of his days were spent like this, just waiting for Xana to send him out on an attack. He was dressed in his usual black and red battle garb, Xana did this to taunt him.

All around William's cell were large gashes scarring the wall's surface, this was from his Zweihander which leaned in the corner opposite of him. At first William had tried to escape, this was apparent from the thousands of wounds that covered the room.

"_Good morning my dear pet"_, a voice whispered inside William's head, seconds later a black mist materialized inside the room. The teen didn't respond, he didn't even move. Xana chuckled as he floated over to his slave.

"_I have another job for you"_, the voice hissed again, this time it's words echoed inside William's mind. Finally the teen's brown eyes focused on the form levitating in front of him. A tear slid down William's cheek, he already knew what his master wanted.

"_Don't cry my dear boy, this is a momentous occasion"_, Xana cooed, his voice growing cheerful with grim satisfaction. For weeks the ego maniacal computer had been writing a program, one that would send William back to Earth.

"_Now, let's go have some fun"_, Xana whispered as he slowly floated inside the boy sitting in front of him. As soon as the dark cloud disappeared, a red aura began to emanate from William's body.

"Fun sounds nice", William growled sisterly as he clambered to his feet. He raised a hand and his Zweihander shot to it's master only to disappear in a cloud of smoke when it hit his flesh.

Meanwhile on Earth…

Odd Della Robbia smirked in amusement as he listened to the angered shrieks of the school's number one diva, Sissy. The headmaster's daughter had just came across of one of the blonde's childish pranks, this one involving rotten milk and a bucket.

"Well, that was a job well done", he chuckled as Sissy stormed off to the showers reeking of sour milk. His long time friend, Ulrich, stood shaking his head at Odd's senseless and frankly disgusting prank.

"You realize that you're eventually going to get in a lot of trouble one day", the brunette commented once Sissy was a good distance away. In response, Odd gave a simple shrug and one of his signature smiles.

"It's worth it honestly", the blonde teen replied dusting his hands off on his dark purple jeans. Ulrich shook his head in disbelief, no matter what he tried he would never get through to his old friend.

"Stern, Della Robbia, you wouldn't have anything to do with this incident would you?" A deep voice demanded from behind the two teens.

"Why would you suspect something like this from a model student like me?" Odd questioned turning to face the school's groundskeeper, Jim.

"Don't lie to me Della Robbia", Jim replied waving a large finger at the svelte blonde. In response Odd gave his best look of innocence in an attempt to woo his opponent.

"It wasn't me Jim, honest", Odd protested trying on his best face of feigned innocence. This seemed to make the older man pause obviously not sure whether to believe the young trickster or not.

"I suppose I could let you off with just a warning", Jim pondered as he fingered the ever present bandage on his cheek.

"Thanks Jim, you're the best!" Odd declared before the older man could change his mind, within seconds the young blonde had disappeared into a crowd of students.

"It was him wasn't it?" Jim sighed placing his head in his hands just now realizing his mistake. Ulrich merely shrugged in response, he wasn't going to rat out his friend that easily.

Meanwhile at the factory

The heavy metal doors of one of the bronze scanners hissed open revealing the snarling face of William. The teen sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, it had been too long since he was 'outside'.

_"Let's get a move on boy, I want to start this slaughter," _Xana growled from inside the dark haired teen's head. William didn't respond, instead he silently reached for his Zweihander that usually adorned his back. To his surprise he found nothing but air.

"_It appears that I couldn't virtualize your weapons or armour, looks like you'll have to improvise," _Xana's voice hissed distastefully. Glancing down, William found what the diabolical AI said was true, he was in the clothes he wore so long ago. A sad smile spread across his face, it almost felt like he was home, almost. Despite being able to see and hear everything going on William wasn't in control, Xana made sure of that.

The teenager was in some sort of trance as he stalked over to the steel pegs that served as the ladder to the computer room. He could feel the cool metal press against his skin, but he couldn't control his body. No matter how hard he struggled he couldn't take charge of his actions.

_"Don't struggle boy, there's no use. You've been my slave long enough to realize that resisting me is useless", _Xana chuckled as he made William climb up to the room housing the supercomputer.

Meanwhile at Kadic

Odd sighed and played a hand through his spiky blonde hair, so far the night had been a bust. He had planned to move in on a pair of new girls that started at the academy a few days prior. He had almost gotten both of them when to his horror they turned out to be twins. Now he was stuck on a park bench with two sore cheeks and dateless.

"They could of been more understanding, all I asked for was a double date!" He declared to the darkness that surrounded the lone source of light that sat high above him. After a short silence he sighed and pushed off the old wooden bench.

"I better get back in before Jim catches me, he's still on the war path", Odd grumbled under his breath as he turned towards the nearby dorm building of Kadic.

_Meanwhile_

William stalked silently through the shadows of the mighty oaks that surrounded Kadic's maintenance building. It was far too late for anyone to be out, but the teen still moved cautiously. It wouldn't do to be discovered so quickly.

The ancient wood door creaked open slowly as he silently slipped inside, everything was pitch black, he couldn't even see his hands in front of him.

'_I can't give you night vision here on Earth, you have to fend for yourself,'_ Xana's voice announced echoing through William's head. The dark haired teen merely growled a response, he knew that shed inside and out, after all that's where he would always sneak off to smoke with Theo.

Taking a tentative step forward, William moved himself closer to the nearby wall. Sliding his hand up the ancient wood, he found the rusted light switch that was poorly hung beside the door. With a simple flick, the room was flooded with the flickering white light of the fluorescent tubes that hung haphazardly from the ceiling.

_'That there will do nicely,' _Xana purred cruelly as he eyed a slightly rusted metal pole that was propped up against the single work table that sat in the small room. A twisted smile formed on William's lips as he snatched the weapon up and turned to the grinder Jim used to sharpen lawn mower blades.

_Not far away_

Odd paused as he was making his way back to his room, for some reason the light to the school's machine shop was on casting a pale glow across the massive oaks that dominated the campus. A grin spread across the young teen's face, this could be his chance to catch some fellow students in a makeout session. Without giving a second thought the blonde quickly stepped off of the concrete path and snuck towards the building.

When he was merely a few steps away a horrific grinding noise tore through the night. Taking a step back, Odd grimaced and threw his pale hands over his ears. The sound continued for a few seconds before it suddenly stopped leaving only an echo.

"What the hell was that?" The blonde teen whispered quietly as he crept closer to the ancient machine shack. He was a mere few steps away when the aging wooden door swung open with a bang.

"This is a damn fine weapon," William chuckled spinning his makeshift blade in a wide arc that sliced through the air like paper. A menacing grin spread across the teen's lips as he stepped out into the crisp night air, a sense of excitement tingled across his skin as he disappeared into the dark.

"What the hell is going on, why is William here?" Odd whispered as he silently slunk back into the bushes he was concealed in. For some reason the reappearance of the lost teen didn't bode well to the blonde. Cursing silently to himself he pulled out the vibrant purple cellphone that was always placed in his pocket and dialed a number.

_Elsewhere_

Jeremy Belpois groaned unhappily and rolled over in his bed as the melodious sound of Beethoven's 5th sympathy filled his dorm room. He groggily reached over and snatched the cellphone from his nightstand and held it to his ear.

"Who is it? He asked, his voice still hoarse from his unexpected wake up.

"Jeremy, it's me Odd. We have a major problem, I need you to head to the factory immediately," Odd answered quickly, his voice full of a unnatural worry.

"Wait, what? What's going on?" Jeremy questioned sitting up in his bed now fully awake.

"William is back, and I don't think he's here for his reunion," Odd grunted in reply. Before Jeremy could reply he heard Odd yell out a loud curse and the line went dead.

In The Forrest

"You're pretty sneaky Odd, I didn't even know you were there," William sneered as he crushed the blonde's discarded cellphone is his hand. Odd winced as he watched the pieces of his beloved smartphone shatter under the other teen's boot, it took him years to get all of those girl's numbers.

"How'd you get back here William? Are you working for Xana?" Odd demanded flatly, this was no time for his usual happy-go-lucky attitude. In response the dark haired teen merely laughed and leaned up against his homemade weapon.

"All these questions so fast, aren't you glad to see me?" William questioned teasingly. Odd didn't respond, instead he raised his fists in front of him in one of the many fighting stances Ulrich had taught him.

"Hell yeah, I'm starting to remember why I like you," William chuckled cruelly. Before Odd could react William rushed forward and swung a wide swing at the blonde teen. It connected with Odd's chin sending him stumbling back, wasting no time William rushed forward to press his attack. Odd saw this attack coming and kicked his foot out catching the other teen in the stomach knocking him to the ground.

"Looks like you've gotten better over the years," William growled as he picked himself up off the ground. Odd laughed and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the grass below him, he really had improved due to the constant war against Xana.

"Tell you what, if you agree to help me out then I'll call this little bout a draw," William offered scratching the nape of his neck nonchalantly.

"You make me sick thinking that I would betray my friends to join you and your damned master," Odd hissed in disgust.

"Well, can't say I didn't offer," William growled as he yanked his makeshift weapon from the dirt and leveled it at the blonde.

Back At Kadic

"What the hell do you want Jeremy? it's three in the morning," Ulrich groaned opening the door to his dorm room. The blonde Einstein quickly pushed past him and walked into the small room.

"William is back, Odd's out there somewhere with him," Jeremy explained before the brunette could protest the sudden intrusion.

"How is that possible? Is Xana behind it?" Ulrich questioned in confusion, he had just been woken up and suddenly found it hard to follow what his friend was saying.

"We have to assume so, I'm going to get Aelita and head for the factory," Jeremy replied quickly, he knew time was running short.

"Right, I'll call Yumi and then head out to find Odd," Ulrich agreed as the blonde teen quickly left his room.

_Meanwhile_

"When are you going to stop running Odd, you were so eager to fight just a minute ago," William teased as he carefully made his way through so bushes that the spiky haired teen had fled through. Suddenly a foot exploded from the undergrowth and caught William in the jaw sending him staggering back.

"Who said I'm running?" Odd demanded before sending a vicious swing William's way. The punch never met it's target though, instead the dark haired teen caught it in his vice like grip.

"I did," He growled cruelly before plunging his makeshift pipe deep into Odd's side. A scream tore out of the teen's mouth as he felt the cold steel being forced through his flesh. William let go of the pipe suddenly causing Odd to drop to his knees breathing heavily.

"Good luck, I'd give it an hour before you bleed out," William laughed before gripping the pipe and yanking it violently from the blonde's body. A whimper slipped from Odd's throat as he clutched desperately at the ragged wound that was slowly oozing crimson. A twisted smile stretched across William's face distorting his features, it was soon followed by a maniacal laugh that ripped from the teenager.

Suddenly William straightened and clutched his temples in agony, he let out a gut wrenching scream and collapsed to his knees in a heap. The teen's breaths came in ragged gasps as he ran his pale fingers through his dark hair.

"Get the hell out of my head," William growled quietly from his position on the ground. There was no response other than Odd's labored breathing, finally the dark haired teen sighed and rose slowly to his feet.

"Odd, don't you dare die on me," William growled as he stumbled over to the young blonde.

"Finally got your head on straight?" Odd chuckled despite the pain coursing through his body. In response William merely nodded before stooping to lift his former enemy off the ground. The blonde hissed in pain as he was forced to support his own weight, suddenly his knees buckled and he collapsed against his companion.

"Let's end this together," William grunted wrapping Odd's arm around his neck so he was supporting the teen. The blonde nodded in silent agreement as he allowed his old classmate to help him through the forest.

The pair had trudged on in silence for what seemed like hours, the only sound was Odd's laboured breathing. The blonde's condition had worsened drastically, he was almost certain he wasn't going to make it to see daybreak.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," William whispered, shattering the silence that had surrounded the pair.

"No one ever blamed you, there's no need to apologize… Even for this," Odd managed in between ragged breaths. William silently shook his head, he'd always expected to be hated for what he'd done.

Minutes Later

Odd groaned loudly as William slowly lowered him to the frigid metal floor of the factory's computer room. The brunette glanced over his friend with a look of concern, despite his attempt at bandaging the teen's wounds it seemed that Odd had gotten dramatically worse.

"Listen, I need to go to Lyoko and seal Xana in, I'll call the paramedics before I go," William grunted as he tapped a few commands into the supercomputer. Straightening he turned and stepped into the elevator, seconds later the metal doors slid closed behind him.

The elevator ride was short, too short. A lump formed in the teen's throat as the doors creaked open revealing the scanner room, he sighed and stepped out into the room. Savoring his last few breaths in the real world William stepped into the closest scanner and let the steel doors hiss shut.

Back on Earth

Ulrich's chest heaved as he gulped in mouthfuls of Kadic's crisp, winter air. He had been sprinting through the forest, desperate to find his friend. All he had managed to find was Odd's purple cellphone which was shattered beyond repair. Jeremy had already called and reported that he was on the way to the factory with Aelita, so the brunette decided to do the same.

Lyoko

The digital walls of Sector 5 gave off no comfort as William stalked his way through the light gray landscape. So far Xana had put up a pretty good fight, the dark haired teen had already dispatched at least four Creepers.

_"Why have you decided to betray me boy?"_ Xana's cruel voice whispered from the darkness causing William to spin in surprise. There was of course no one but him standing in the drab coloured hallway.

"I never willingly fought for you, I would never fight for a monster," William spat before continuing down the stretching corridor.

_"Oh, but you enjoyed the battles I let you play in. I monitored your body when you would fight, you had so many emotions tearing through you, such glee and happiness. Especially when fighting Yumi,"_ The ego maniacal computer program goaded in it's perverse way of teasing.

William shook his head violently as if trying to shake Xana's voice from his mind, he couldn't give into his anger. Thankfully the voice disappeared as the dark haired teen waved open a massive door that led to sector five's memory unit.

_"If you do this you'll perish inside this wretched place, do you really wish to die?"_ Xana hissed, his calculating voice slowly losing it's usual composure.

"As long as I take you with me I don't care," William growled grasping a large switch that dominated a expansive control panel filled full of screens and holograms.

_"__Actually, I can escape, just because you destroy Lyoko doesn't mean I can't get out,"_ Xana chuckled, surely he had beat won this time.

"I would rethink that Mr. Xana, you can't leave if I pull the plug on your beloved computer," Odd's disembodied voice announced. A grim smile cracked across William's face as he yanked the lever down bringing the world to a grinding halt. The dark haired teen closed his eyes and whispered to himself as he was bathed in a brilliant white light.

_"__Remember me." _

A Few Days Later

It was a rainy day, quite fitting for the mood of the Lyoko gang. They had all gathered in a small cemetery outside of Kadic, in front of an already weather worn gravestone. It read 'William Dunbar', in simple neat lettering. The five youngsters had gathered to pay their respects to a former enemy and rival, but in the end a great friend and hero. All animosity towards the rebellious teenager had evaporated because in a way he had freed all of them.

Odd and Aelita were the last remaining at the simple grave, staring at it as the rain fell around them. The blonde sighed and leaned forward in his wheelchair to place a single red rose on the graveside.

"I'll always remember you brother," the blonde whispered before turning to look at Aelita with a broad smile.

"C'mon princess, let's go home," He said happily


	2. Rebirth

_A/N: Hello there one and all, the Crow returns once again! I decided I loved this story too much to let it go. This new chapter is set years in the future after the Super Computer was shut down in the previous chapter. The original Lyoko gang's ages will be off and I apologize for that, it was just really difficult to make everything work out with cannon ages. So, now everyone (except William, he is still 14) is between 35 and 40. The OC's are as follows; Legend is Ulirch and Yumi's only son, he is 15 years old. Koen is Odd and Addilyn's only child, he is 13. Jeremy and Aelita have two children, Lillith is the oldest at 15, and Quentin is 12. _

A dark haired teen groggily sat up and rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes. He couldn't see, he couldn't think or even remember. Panic started to set in as he felt blindly around the brightly lit room, slowly his vision began to adjust to the brilliant rays assaulting his retinas. Memories came flooding back to him as he struggled unsteadily to his feet. His name was William Dunbar, and he shouldn't be alive.

_Elsewhere_

"So, this is Lyoko," A young man scoffed as he ran a gloved hand through his chocolate brown hair, so far he wasn't impressed with the virtual world he was standing in. Beside him a redhaired teen rolled her eyes at the older boy's criticism, it was just like Legend to immediately start complaining.

"I dunno, it looks pretty cool to me," a younger blonde boy commented as he looked around at the virtual world in awe. Legend immediately gave him a stink eye before drawing one of his weapons that virtualized with him.

"You might be right, Koen," the brunette chuckled as he ran a hand along the razor sharp edge of his battleaxe.

"Guys, stop fooling around and get out of there, I don't want dad to find out I turned this thing on," a disembodied voice pleaded from inside the group's head.

"C'mon Quentin, don't be such a wimp," Legend teased as he swung his axe in a wide arc over his head.

_Not Far Away_

William slowly emerged from a neutral tower and scanned the barren wasteland that was the desert sector, he could just barely make out a group of people standing in the open. A grimace spread across his face as he drew his massive Zweihander, he didn't recognize them.

"Let's go explore this stupid place," Legend grumbled as he turned and started to walk further into the desert until he caught sight of William sprinting towards them.

"Hell yeah, so this is like a video game," the dark haired teen declared letting a grin spread across his lips.

Suddenly William disappeared into a cloud of smoke mid stride, seconds later he materialized behind Legend.

"What the hell was that?" The brunette roared as he spun on his heel trying to find his assailant. Before Legend could react he caught a vicious kick from William sending him stumbling back.

"I won't let you control me again Xana!" William bellowed bringing his Zweihander down in a brutal strike aimed straight at the fallen warrior. Suddenly pain tore through the dark haired teen's shoulder causing his attack to rip into the arid desert floor, he grunted and yanked an arrow from his arm.

"Get back Legend, he's dangerous," Lilith ordered notching another arrow in her bow. William growled in anger and sprinted towards the redhead in a blind rage. He swung his Zweihander in a savage arc catching the teen in the stomach with the blunt edge of his sword sending her skidding across the ground. The redhead landed in a painful heap, she didn't move as the dust settled around her.

"Lilith!" Legend roared in anger as he rushed forward and swung his battleaxe. Before the blow landed William flicked his wrist and a plume of dark smoke slammed the brunette into the ground before dissipating into thin air. Seeing his friend in danger Koen ran forward to defend the fallen brunette but was simply tossed aside by a flick of William's wrist.

Legend blinked weakly and stared up at the assailant standing over him, he sighed and closed his eyes, this was it for him.

"Laser arrow!"

William grimaced as a sharp pain shot up his arm, it had been awhile since he had that feeling, he missed it. A twisted grin spread across the teen's face as he leveled his blade at the purple clad warrior that stood in front of him.

A mixture of confusion and shock rippled across Odd's face as he stared into William's cold, brown eyes. Seeing the blonde's hesitation William darted forward and swung his sword in a mighty arc, aiming directly for his enemy's head.

"William, what the hell are you doing!?" Odd bellowed as he skillfully dodged the ferocious swing.

"Shut up Xana! I won't let you torture me anymore!" William roared before charging forward for another swing.

Suddenly the dark haired teen let out a pained gasp and collapsed in a heap on the dusty ground.

"Did that stop him?" Jeremy questioned, his voice echoing across the empty expanse of desert. All eyes fell on the crumpled pile that was a very pissed William a few seconds ago.

"Yeah, I think you got him Einstein," Odd grunted in reply.

_The world swirled by, everything blending together as sound and time slowed to a stop._

"_You failed them, you will always fail. You're useless, a complete failure," _

_A dark haired teen opened his eyes and stared blanky around at his surroundings, he was alone… always alone._

"_They hate you, you're not one of them"_

"_**Stop," **__the teen pleaded as the voices grew louder._

"_You can't stop us, we are you. Surrender to us, give into your hate,"_

"_**GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"**_ _William roared. Suddenly the world shattered into a thousand pieces, tearing through the dark haired teen's body._

A loud hiss reverberated across the scanner room as one of the large tanks slid open revealing William slumped against the metallic wall. The first one at his side was a very concerned Yumi, she was quickly joined by the rest of her friends.

"Is he still breathing?" Aelita asked, her hands clasping together tightly. Ulrich silently placed his head on the dark haired teen's chest, straining his ears trying to detect a heartbeat.

"He's alive, but I can barely hear his heartbeat. We need to get him to a hospital," Ulrich announced moving his head away from William's chest.

"Get him to a hospital? This asshole tried to kill us!" Legend yelled from his spot leaning against the far wall.

"He wouldn't be here if you guys hadn't of turned on the supercomputer," Jeremy retorted crossing his arms, he was clearly still angry over the whole incident. He turned his disapproving gaze on his son Quentin, who was staring down at his sneakers trying to avoid his father's eyes.

"But how is he here? He should of been deleted when Lyoko was destroyed," Aelita whispered to herself. Even though the pink haired woman was the first to say it, everyone had the same thought on their minds.

"We shouldn't worry about this now, we need to get him some help," Odd announced, breaking the silence that had fallen over the cramped room. He moved to lift William off of the steel floor but jumped back when the teen snapped to life.

"Get away from me, I won't let you trick me Xana!" William roared as he kicked away Odd's hand. Sweat beaded the young teen's forehead as he looked around wildly looking much like a caged animal. His vision was blurry and sounds were mixing together, all he could make out was a blob of purple.

"It's okay William, you're safe, Xana can't hurt you anymore," Aelita cried, tears streaming from her face. She couldn't stand to see her friends suffer at the hands of the program that her father had created. Hearing the pink haired woman's voice William stopped struggling and stared off into the empty space that his vision formed.

"A-Aelita?" The William stuttered in confusion, nothing was making sense to him.

"Yes, it's me. You're safe, I promise," the pink haired woman cooed as she scooted closer to the distressed teen. Taking a deep breath she reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. William sighed as he felt the warmth of Aelita's touch flow over his skin, he was finally home.

Suddenly the room was filled with the screeches of an alarm sounding from the room above causing everyone to jump in shock.

"That's the supercomputer, there's a activated tower!" Jeremy exclaimed as he rushed to the ladder that sat in one side of the small room. A pit formed in the blonde's stomach as he hoisted himself up the metal rungs, he was afraid.

"Get ready to virtualize me, I'll take care of it," Ulrich called after the man as he disappeared into the access hatch in the metal roof. Turing around the man caught his wife's gaze apprehensively, she was climbing into a scanner.

"What? You think I'd really let you have all the fun?" Yumi teased as she playfully stuck her tongue out at her husband as the scanner doors slowly slid shut.

"_Virtualize Ulrich!"_

"_Virtualize Yumi!" _

"You go with them princess, I'll take care of William," Odd grunted as he placed a hand on the stunned teenager's shoulder. Aelita nodded quietly and moved quickly to the closest open scanner, she took a deep breath as it closed around her.

"_Virtualize Aelita!"_

The second Aelita hit the virtual ground of Lyoko's desert region she knew they were in trouble, Xana had already sent his monsters. Lasers ripped through the air as Ulrich and Yumi did their best to hold back a pair of tarantula's that had been waiting to ambush them.

"We're going to need Odd in here now!" Aelita yelled as she summoned a energy shield to block an incoming laser.

Seconds later a man in a striped purple cat suit fell from the sky and landed gracefully beside her. He gave a playful wink before firing a pair of laser arrows into the closest Tarantula destroying it instantly.

"I was already in the scanner princess," Odd teased as Ulrich rushed forward and sliced the remaining enemy in half. A smile crossed the pink haired woman as her mind wandered back to past when they did this charade on the daily. In fact all of the Lyoko warriors were filled with a feeling of nostalgia as they dashed through the barren desert.

Suddenly a laser tore past the group scorching a rock to their right, seconds later the second one caught Ulrich on the shoulder.

"Einstein, what happened to those monster updates?" Ulrich demanded as a formation of hornets buzzed past.

"I'm trying, the monsters aren't showing up on my radar, it looks like my program is too old," Jeremy's disembodied voice replied, echoing through everyone's head. Odd opened his mouth to reply with a sarcastic response but was silenced when a laser blast from a Megatank disintegrated him into pixels.

"Aeltia, run!" Yumi ordered as she gracefully hurled one of her fans at the Megatank hoping for a lucky shot. Not in a position to argue Aelita turned and sprinted away from the remaining Lyoko warriors leaving them to fend off Xana's monsters.

"Keep running straight, the tower is around that rock face," Jeremy announced urging Aelita along as she sprinted across the dusty ground that was the desert sector.

"Don't stop, Ulrich and Yumi just got devirtualized!" The blonde man cried as he read off the lines of text that flashed by like lightning on his screen. Aelita nodded grimly as she sprinted around the aforementioned rock face, it was all up to her now.

Suddenly Aelita stopped running, her dark green eyes growing wide with fear as the tentacled form of the Scyphozoa glided into view from it's hiding place somewhere in the rocks. The pink haired woman turned to run but was yanked back by the monster's vise like grip, desperation caught in the woman's throat as she was lifted effortlessly off the ground. Within seconds she felt a tug on her mind as her memories where slowly torn from her.

Jeremy watched in stunned horror as his wife's memories were slowly drained away. Desperation flashed across the blonde man's face as he realized that he was completely helpless, there was nothing he could do but watch. Suddenly a text box popped up on one of his many computer screens drawing his eyes to it.

"Virtualize William?" He questioned, reading the text aloud.

Fear ran rampant through Aelita's body, she couldn't hold on any longer, her mind was starting to fade. Her vision blurred as his eyes began to drift shut, she had lost.

Suddenly the Scyphozoa roared out in pain as it's tentacles were slice open, causing it to drop Aelita. The monster whirled around only to come face to face with a very angry William.

"Hey there ugly, did you miss me?" The dark haired teen growled, leveling his sword at the monster. In response the Scyphozoa screeched and turned to flee, a evil smile crossed William's face as he prepared to make the finishing blow.

Before the warrior could swing his sword he caught a laser blast in the chest forcing him to his knees. A barbaric roar tore from William's throat as he swung his sword in a mighty arc in an attempt to devirtualize Aelita before he was hit by a barrage of deadly lasers.

A grim smile broke the teen's face as he watched the pink haired woman disappear into a flurry of pixels. He had done it.

_Aelita woke in a panic, her dark green eyes scanning the room in confusion. Her vision was blurry causing the room to mold together, she could barely make out a older man with gray hair standing with his back to her. _

"_W-who are you?" Aelita questioned as she slowly sat up in the small bed she was laying in._

"_You'll remember me in due time, for now you must remember yourself," the man whispered, his back still to the pink haired woman._

"_What do you mean? Nothing make sense right now" Aelita cried out panic catching in her throat._

"_Goodbye my dear Aelita," the man muttered sadly as he removed a pair of round spectacles and turned to look at the pink haired woman._

"Guys, she's waking up!" Odd exclaimed as he rushed to Aelita's bedside. The pink haired woman groaned and slowly sat up trying her best to not upset her head splitting migraine. The woman's caution soon proved to be useless when she was suddenly pulled into a crushing hug by the blonde man.

"You gave us a scare princess," Odd whispered as he held the woman tightly, tears dripping down his puffy cheeks. A sad smile graced Aelita's face as she wrapped her arms around Odd's slim form. The pair held their embrace for a few more seconds before they broke apart.

"Are you okay Odd?" Aelita questioned, her eyes growing wide with concern. The blonde teen nodded quietly despite his badly disheveled appearance. His cheeks were red and swollen from hours of crying, and his eyes were bloodshot from him constantly rubbing at them.

"I just didn't want to lose you too," Odd whispered diverting his gaze from his companion's. It was a simple sentence, but Aelita could hear all the pain in the man's words. Odd's wife, Addilyn, had died from cancer around six years ago. The blonde haired man rarely let it show but he was broken inside after losing her.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, that's a promise," Aelita declared reassuringly as she took Odd's hands in her own. Suddenly a thought dawned on her as she glanced around the empty room.

"Where's Jeremy?" Aelita asked, tilting her head questioningly. Odd's face fell as he jerked his head at the wooden door to the room.

"He's at the SuperComputer, been there since you came out of the scanners," he replied sourly. It was clear by the man's tone that he was upset with his friend.

Aelita was about to open her mouth to reply when a scream tore through the room.

_A/N: All done! So, what did you think? If you liked it then it would be amazing if you followed/ favorited to show that I have readers! And as always comment and tell me how I'm doing or to leave suggestions! _

_~Sincerely the Crow~_


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